Bracebridge tree tower idea axed

A proposed communications tower in the Muskoka Falls area can’t be made to look like a tree, Bracebridge council has learned.

Council first debated Bell Mobility’s intentions to build a 148-foot tower near the intersection of Highway 11 and Highway 118 East last summer, but questioned whether the tower could be built in a way that blends more seamlessly into the surrounding treeline. Engineers from Bell Mobility had originally said the tower could be constructed in either a three-legged, tripole model or in a sleek monopole design.

At the time, councillors wanted Bell to see whether the design could be built instead to resemble a tree, similar to towers approved in Muskoka Lakes earlier in 2012.

Engineers from the company, however, have since returned to say a monopole tower can’t be built because of the height of the proposed structure in Bracebridge. Disguising a monopole tower as a tree, they said, is also out of the question.

“They came back and because of the height, they wouldn’t be able to place a monopole tower, and therefore they wouldn’t be able to place the pine tree disguise at the very top,” said assistant development services director Dana Rahkola. “Finally they also said it would make the area look odd because we don’t have 150-foot tall trees in the area.”

In discussions last year, the company’s consultant had said Bell had not built a tree-type tower to that height before, and expressed concerns about the impact of wind, ice and snow loads on such a large structure if it were to be constructed.

Rahkola said further barriers to the tree and monopole options were encountered when Transport Canada said the tower would have be lighted due to its close proximity to the Muskoka Airport.

The only option left now is to build the tower to a shorter height of 131 feet in a three-legged model.

Council gave a nod to the revised plans during a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

Last year, council had learned the tower was being built to fill a weak spot in Bell’s service area, which resulted in a large number of dropped cellphone calls. Draper Ward Coun. Gerry Tryon said he hopes the structure will help improve Internet access for some residents in his area.

“There is a section out in Draper township where the people are having a difficult time getting high-speed Internet, and definitely with this in place, it will give them that opportunity to have what pretty much everyone else takes for granted now,” said Tryon.